Cuba is ranked very high for human development by the United Nations, and high for health and education.[19][20][21] In 2015, it became the first country to eradicate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, a milestone hailed by the WHO as an "one of the greatest public health achievements possible."[22]

Cuba was inhabited by American Indian people known as the Taíno, also called Arawak by the Spanish, and Guanajatabey and Ciboney people before the arrival of the Spanish. The ancestors of these Native Americans migrated from the mainland of North, Central and South America several centuries earlier.[27] The native Taíno called the island Caobana (correct spelling is "Coabana", which is spelled wrong on the referenced site.)[28] The Taíno were farmers, while the Ciboney were farmers as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers.

In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa. Other towns soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital. The native Taíno were forced to work under the encomienda system,[33] which resembled a feudal system in Medieval Europe.[34] Within a century the indigenous people were virtually wiped out due to multiple factors, primarily Eurasian infectious diseases, to which they had no natural resistance (immunity), aggravated by harsh conditions of the repressive colonial subjugation.[35] In 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of those few natives who had previously survived smallpox.[36][37]

On 18th May, 1539, Conquistador Hernando De Soto departed from Havana, Cuba at the head of some 600 followers into a vast expedition through the Southeastern United States, starting at La Florida, in search of gold, treasure, fame and power.[38] On September 1, 1548, Dr. Gonzalo Perez de Angulo was appointed governor of Cuba. He arrived in Santiago, Cuba on November 4, 1549 and immediately declared the liberty of all natives.[39] He became Cuba's first permanent governor to reside in Havana instead of Santiago, and he built Havana's first church made of masonry.[40] After the French took Havana in 1555, the governor's son, Francisco de Angulo, went to Mexico.[41]

Cuba developed slowly and, unlike the plantation islands of the Caribbean, had a diversified agriculture. But what was most important was that the colony developed as an urbanized society that primarily supported the Spanish colonial empire. By the mid-18th century, its colonists held 50,000 slaves, compared to 60,000 in Barbados; 300,000 in Virginia, both British colonies; and 450,000 in French Saint-Domingue, which had large-scale sugar cane plantations.[42]

The Seven Years' War, which erupted in 1754 across three continents, eventually arrived in the Spanish Caribbean. Spain's alliance with the French pitched them into direct conflict with the British, and in 1762 a British expedition of five warships and 4,000 troops set out from Portsmouth to capture Cuba. The British arrived on 6 June, and by August had Havana under siege.[43] When Havana surrendered, the admiral of the British fleet, George Keppel, the 3rd Earl of Albemarle, entered the city as a conquering new governor and took control of the whole western part of the island. The British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. They imported food, horses and other goods into the city, as well as thousands of slaves from West Africa to work on the under developed sugar plantations.[43]

Though Havana, which had become the third-largest city in the Americas, was to enter an era of sustained development and increasing ties with North America during this period, the British occupation of the city proved short-lived. Pressure from London sugar merchants, fearing a decline in sugar prices, forced negotiations with the Spanish over colonial territories. Less than a year after Britain seized Havana, it signed the Peace of Paris together with France and Spain, ending the Seven Years' War. The treaty gave Britain Florida in exchange for Cuba. The French had recommended this to Spain, advising that declining to give up Florida could result in Spain instead losing Mexico and much of the South American mainland to the British.[43] Many in Britain were disappointed, believing that Florida was a poor return for Cuba and Britain's other gains in the war.

Although a smaller proportion of the population of Cuba was enslaved, at times slaves arose in revolt. In 1812 the Aponte Slave Rebellion took place but it was suppressed.[44]

The population of Cuba in 1817 was 630,980, of which 291,021 were white, 115,691 free people of color (mixed-race), and 224,268 black slaves.[45] This was a much higher proportion of free blacks to slaves than in Virginia, for instance, or the other Caribbean islands. Historians such as Swedish Magnus Mõrner, who studied slavery in Latin America, found that manumissions increased when slave economies were in decline, as in 18th-century Cuba and early 19th-century Maryland of the United States.[42][46]

In part due to Cuban slaves working primarily in urbanized settings, by the 19th century, there had developed the practice of coartacion, or "buying oneself out of slavery," a "uniquely Cuban development," according to historian Herbert S. Klein.[47] Due to a shortage of white labor, blacks dominated urban industries "to such an extent that when whites in large numbers came to Cuba in the middle of the nineteenth century, they were unable to displace Negro workers."[42] A system of diversified agriculture, with small farms and fewer slaves, served to supply the cities with produce and other goods.[42]

In the 1820s, when the rest of Spain's empire in Latin America rebelled and formed independent states, Cuba remained loyal. Its economy was based on serving the empire. By 1860, Cuba had 213,167 free people of color, 39% of its non-White population of 550,000.[42] By contrast, Virginia with about the same number of blacks, had only 58,042 or 11% who were free; the rest were enslaved.[42] In the antebellum years, Virginia discouraged manumissions after the Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion of 1831 and strengthened restrictions against free blacks, as did other southern states. In addition, there was a high demand for slaves, and Virginia planters sold many in the internal domestic slave trade, to be shipped or taken overland to the Deep South, which had greatly expanded its cotton production.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes is known as Father of the Homeland in Cuba, having declared the nation's independence from Spain in 1868.

Full independence from Spain was the goal of a rebellion in 1868 led by planter Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. De Céspedes, a sugar planter, freed his slaves to fight with him for a free Cuba. On 27 December 1868, he issued a decree condemning slavery in theory but accepting it in practice and declaring free any slaves whose masters present them for military service.[48] The 1868 rebellion resulted in a prolonged conflict known as the Ten Years' War. Two thousand Cuban Chinese joined the rebels. Chinese had been imported as indentured laborers. A monument in Havana honours the Cuban Chinese who fell in the war.[49]

The United States declined to recognize the new Cuban government, although many European and Latin American nations did so.[50] In 1878, the Pact of Zanjón ended the conflict, with Spain promising greater autonomy to Cuba. In 1879–1880, Cuban patriot Calixto García attempted to start another war known as the Little War but did not receive enough support.[51]Slavery in Cuba was abolished in 1875 and was completed in the 1880s.[52][53]

An exiled dissident named José Martí founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892. The aim of the party was to achieve Cuban independence from Spain.[54] In January 1895 Martí traveled to Montecristi and Santo Domingo to join the efforts of Máximo Gómez.[54] Martí recorded his political views in the Manifesto of Montecristi.[55] Fighting against the Spanish army began in Cuba on 24 February 1895, but Martí was unable to reach Cuba until 11 April 1895.[54] Martí was killed in the battle of Dos Rios on 19 May 1895.[54] His death immortalized him as Cuba's national hero.[55]

Around 200,000 Spanish troops outnumbered the much smaller rebel army, which relied mostly on guerrilla and sabotage tactics. The Spaniards began a campaign of suppression. General Valeriano Weyler, military governor of Cuba, herded the rural population into what he called reconcentrados, described by international observers as "fortified towns". These are often considered the prototype for 20th-century concentration camps.[56] Between 200,000 and 400,000 Cuban civilians died from starvation and disease in the camps, numbers verified by the Red Cross and United States Senator Redfield Proctor, a former Secretary of War. American and European protests against Spanish conduct on the island followed.[57]

The U.S. battleship Maine was sent to protect U.S. interests, but soon after arrival, she exploded in Havana harbor and sank quickly, killing nearly three quarters of her crew. The cause and responsibility for her sinking remained unclear after a board of inquiry. Popular opinion in the U.S., fueled by an active press, concluded that the Spanish were to blame and demanded action.[58] Spain and the United States declared war on each other in late April 1898.

Raising the Cuban flag on the Governor General's Palace at noon on May 20, 1902.

After the Spanish–American War, Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (1898), by which Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States for the sum of $20 million.[60] Cuba gained formal independence from the U.S. on May 20, 1902, as the Republic of Cuba.[61] Under Cuba's new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, the U.S. leased the Guantánamo Bay naval base from Cuba.

Following disputed elections in 1906, the first president, Tomás Estrada Palma, faced an armed revolt by independence war veterans who defeated the meager government forces.[62] The U.S. intervened by occupying Cuba and named Charles Edward Magoon as Governor for three years. Cuban historians have attributed Magoon's governorship as having introduced political and social corruption.[63] In 1908, self-government was restored when José Miguel Gómez was elected President, but the U.S. continued intervening in Cuban affairs. In 1912, the Partido Independiente de Color attempted to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province,[64] but was suppressed by General Monteagudo with considerable bloodshed.

In 1924, Gerardo Machado was elected president.[65] During his administration, tourism increased markedly, and American-owned hotels and restaurants were built to accommodate the influx of tourists.[65] The tourist boom led to increases in gambling and prostitution.[65] The Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to precipitous drops in the price of sugar, political unrest, and repression.[66] Protesting students, known as the Generation of 1930, turned to violence in opposition to the increasingly unpopular Machado.[66] A general strike (in which the Communist Party sided with Machado),[67] uprisings among sugar workers, and an army revolt forced Machado into exile in August 1933. He was replaced by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada.[66]

In September 1933, the Sergeants' Revolt, led by Sergeant Fulgencio Batista, overthrew Cespedes.[68] A five-member executive committee (the Pentarchy of 1933) was chosen to head a provisional government.[69]Ramon Grau San Martin was then appointed as provisional president.[69] Grau resigned in 1934, leaving the way clear for Batista, who dominated Cuban politics for the next 25 years, at first through a series of puppet-presidents.[68] The period from 1933 to 1937 was a time of "virtually unremitting social and political warfare".[70]

A new constitution was adopted in 1940, which engineered radical progressive ideas, including the right to labour and health care.[71] Batista was elected president in the same year, holding the post until 1944.[72] He is so far the only non-white Cuban to win the nation's highest political office.[17][73][74] His government carried out major social reforms. Several members of the Communist Party held office under his administration.[75] Cuban armed forces were not greatly involved in combat during World War II, although president Batista suggested a joint U.S.-Latin American assault on Francoist Spain in order to overthrow its authoritarian regime.[76]

Batista adhered to the 1940 constitution's strictures preventing his re-election.[77] Ramon Grau San Martin was the winner of the next election, in 1944.[72] Grau further corroded the base of the already teetering legitimacy of the Cuban political system, in particular by undermining the deeply flawed, though not entirely ineffectual, Congress and Supreme Court.[78]Carlos Prío Socarrás, a protégé of Grau, became president in 1948.[72] The two terms of the Auténtico Party saw an influx of investment which fueled a boom and raised living standards for all segments of society and created a prosperous middle class in most urban areas.[79]

After running unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1952, Batista staged a coup.[80] He outlawed the Cuban Communist Party in 1952.[81] Cuba had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios, though about one third of the population was considered poor and enjoyed relatively little of this consumption.[82]

In 1958, Cuba was a relatively well-advanced country by Latin American standards, and in some cases by world standards.[83] On the other hand, Cuba was affected by perhaps the largest labor union privileges in Latin America, including bans on dismissals and mechanization. They were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to disparities.[84] Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems.[17][18] Unemployment became a problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs.[17] The middle class, which was comparable to that of the United States, became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution. The labor unions supported Batista until the very end.[17][73] Batista stayed in power until he was forced into exile in December 1958.[80]

In the 1950s, various organizations, including some advocating armed uprising, competed for public support in bringing about political change.[85] In 1956, Fidel Castro and about 80 supporters landed from the yacht Granma in an attempt to start a rebellion against the Batista government.[85] It was not until 1958 that Castro's July 26th Movement emerged as the leading revolutionary group.[85]

By late 1958 the rebels had broken out of the Sierra Maestra and launched a general popular insurrection. After Castro's fighters captured Santa Clara, Batista fled with his family to the Dominican Republic on January 1, 1959. Later he went into exile on the Portuguese island of Madeira and finally settled in Estoril, near Lisbon. Fidel Castro's forces entered the capital on 8 January 1959. The liberal Manuel Urrutia Lleó became the provisional president.[86]

From 1959 to 1966 Cuban insurgents fought a six-year rebellion in the Escambray Mountains against the Castro government. The government's vastly superior numbers eventually crushed the insurgency. The rebellion lasted longer and involved more soldiers than the Cuban Revolution.[87][88] The U.S. State Department has estimated that 3,200 people were executed from 1959 to 1962.[89] Other estimates for the total number of political executions range from 4,000 to 33,000.[90][91][92]

The United States government initially reacted favorably to the Cuban revolution, seeing it as part of a movement to bring democracy to Latin America.[93] Castro's legalization of the Communist party and the hundreds of executions that followed caused a deterioration in the relationship between the two countries.[93] The promulgation of the Agrarian Reform Law, expropriating thousands of acres of farmland, further worsened relations.[93] In February 1960, Castro signed a commercial agreement with Soviet Vice-Premier Anastas Mikoyan.[93] In March 1960, Eisenhower gave his approval to a CIA plan to arm and train a group of Cuban refugees to overthrow the Castro regime.[94]

The invasion (known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion) took place on April 14, 1961.[95] About 1,400 Cuban exiles disembarked at the Bay of Pigs, but failed in their attempt to overthrow Castro.[95] In January 1962, Cuba was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS), and later the same year the OAS started to impose sanctions against Cuba of similar nature to the US sanctions.[96] The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in October 1962. By 1963, Cuba was moving towards a full-fledged Communist system modeled on the USSR.[97]

The standard of living in the 1970s was "extremely spartan" and discontent was rife.[99] Fidel Castro admitted the failures of economic policies in a 1970 speech.[99] In 1975 the OAS lifted its sanctions against Cuba, with the approval of 16 member states, including the U.S. The U.S., however, maintained its own sanctions.[96]

Castro's rule was severely tested in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse in 1991 (known in Cuba as the Special Period). The country faced a severe economic downturn following the withdrawal of Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually, resulting in effects such as food and fuel shortages.[100][101] The government did not accept American donations of food, medicines, and cash until 1993.[100] On 5 August 1994, state security dispersed protesters in a spontaneous protest in Havana.[102]

In February 2008, Fidel Castro announced his resignation as President of Cuba.[105] On 24 February his brother, Raúl Castro, was declared the new President.[106] In his inauguration speech, Raúl promised that some of the restrictions on freedom in Cuba would be removed.[107] In March 2009, Raúl Castro removed some of his brother's appointees.[108]

On 3 June 2009, the Organization of American States adopted a resolution to end the 47-year ban on Cuban membership of the group.[109] The resolution stated, however, that full membership would be delayed until Cuba was "in conformity with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS."[96] Fidel Castro restated his position that he was not interested in joining after the OAS resolution had been announced.[110]

Raúl Castro meets with U.S. President Barack Obama in Panama, 11 April 2015

Effective January 14, 2013, Cuba ended the requirement established in 1961 that any citizens who wish to travel abroad were required to obtain an expensive government permit and a letter of invitation.[111][112][113] In 1961 the Cuban government had imposed broad restrictions on travel to prevent the mass emigration of people after the 1959 revolution;[114] it approved exit visas only on rare occasions.[115] Requirements were simplified: Cubans need only a passport and a national ID card to leave; and they are allowed to take their young children with them for the first time.[116] However, a passport costs on average five months' salary. Observers expect that Cubans with paying relatives abroad are most likely to be able to take advantage of the new policy.[117] In the first year of the program, over 180,000 left Cuba and returned.[118]

As of December, 2014, talks with Cuban officials and American officials including President Barack Obama have resulted in the exchange of releasing Alan Gross, fifty-two political prisoners, and an unnamed non-citizen agent of the United States in return for the release of three Cuban agents currently imprisoned in the United States. Additionally, while the embargo between the United States and Cuba will not be lifted, it will be relaxed to allow import, export, and certain commerce within a limit between the two.[119]

The People's Supreme Court serves as Cuba's highest judicial branch of government. It is also the court of last resort for all appeals against the decisions of provincial courts.

Cuba's national legislature, the National Assembly of People's Power (Asamblea Nacional de Poder Popular), is the supreme organ of power; 609 members serve five-year terms.[120] The assembly meets twice a year; between sessions legislative power is held by the 31 member Council of Ministers. Candidates for the Assembly are approved by public referendum. All Cuban citizens over 16 who have not been convicted of a criminal offense can vote.[122] Article 131 of the Constitution states that voting shall be "through free, equal and secret vote".[120] Article 136 states: "In order for deputies or delegates to be considered elected they must get more than half the number of valid votes cast in the electoral districts".[120]

No political party is permitted to nominate candidates or campaign on the island, including the Communist Party.[123] The Communist Party of Cuba has held six party congress meetings since 1975. In 2011, the party stated that there were 800,000 members, and representatives generally constitute at least half of the Councils of state and the National Assembly. The remaining positions are filled by candidates nominally without party affiliation. Other political parties campaign and raise finances internationally, while activity within Cuba by opposition groups is minimal.

In February 2013, Raúl Castro, current Cuban President, announced his resignation for 2018, that will end his current 5-year term, and hope to implement permanent term limits for future Cuban Presidents, including age limits.[124]

The country is subdivided into 15 provinces and one special municipality (Isla de la Juventud). These were formerly part of six larger historical provinces: Pinar del Río, Habana, Matanzas, Las Villas, Camagüey and Oriente. The present subdivisions closely resemble those of the Spanish military provinces during the Cuban Wars of Independence, when the most troublesome areas were subdivided. The provinces are divided into municipalities.

The Cuban government has been accused of numerous human rights abuses including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, unfair trials, and extrajudicial executions (also known as "El Paredón").[125][126]Human Rights Watch has stated that the government "represses nearly all forms of political dissent" and that "Cubans are systematically denied basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, privacy, movement, and due process of law".[127]

The European Union (EU) in 2003 accused the Cuban government of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms".[128] The United States continues an embargo against Cuba "so long as it continues to refuse to move toward democratization and greater respect for human rights",[129] though the UN General Assembly has, since 1992, passed a resolution every year condemning the ongoing impact of the embargo and claiming it to be in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.[130] Cuba considers the embargo itself to be in violation of human rights.[131] On December 17, 2014, United States President Barack Obama announced the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, pushing for Congress to put an end to the embargo.[132]

Cuban dissidents face arrest and imprisonment. In the 1990s, Human Rights Watch reported that Cuba's extensive prison system, one of the largest in Latin America, consists of 40 maximum-security prisons, 30 minimum-security prisons, and over 200 work camps.[135] According to Human Rights Watch, Cuba's prison population is confined in "substandard and unhealthy conditions, where prisoners face physical and sexual abuse."[135]

In 2005, the president of the EU made a declaration on behalf of member states and other regional countries:[136]

The EU calls on the Cuban authorities to take immediate action to improve the conditions of detention of these individuals and other political prisoners who are being held in circumstances that fall below the UN Minimum Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners.

The EU reiterates its urgent request to Cuba to release unconditionally all political prisoners still detained."

In July 2010, the unofficial Cuban Human Rights Commission said there were 167 political prisoners in Cuba, a fall from 201 at the start of the year. The head of the commission stated that long prison sentences were being replaced by harassment and intimidation.[137]

Cuba has conducted a foreign policy that is uncharacteristic of such a minor, developing country.[146][147] Lesser known actions include the 1959 missions to the Dominican Republic.[148] The expedition failed, but a prominent monument to its members was erected in their memory in Santo Domingo by the Dominican government, and they feature prominently at the country's Memorial Museum of the Resistance.[149]

Cuba is a founding member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.[150] At the end of 2012, tens of thousands of Cuban medical personnel worked abroad,[151] with as many as 30,000 doctors in Venezuela alone via the two countries' oil-for-doctors programme.[152]

In 1996, the United States, then under President Bill Clinton, brought in the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, better known as the Helms–Burton Act.[153]

In 2008, the EU and Cuba agreed to resume full relations and cooperation activities.[154] United States President Barack Obama stated on April 17, 2009, in Trinidad and Tobago that "the United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba",[155] and reversed the Bush Administration's prohibition on travel and remittances by Cuban-Americans from the United States to Cuba.[156]

On December 17, 2014, an agreement between the United States and Cuba, popularly called "The Cuban Thaw", brokered in part by Canada and Pope Francis, began the process of restoring international relations between Cuba and the United States. Cuba and the US agreed to release political prisoners and the United States began the process of creating an embassy in Havana.[157][158][159][160][161]

On April 14, 2015, the White House announced Obama will remove Cuba from the American government's list of nations which sponsor terrorism.[162][163] The Cuban government has reportedly welcomed the decision as "fair."[164]

On June 30, 2015, Cuba and the U.S. reached a deal to reopen embassies in their respective capitals on July 20, 2015 [165] and reestablish diplomatic relations.[166]

All law enforcement agencies are maintained under Cuba's Ministry of the Interior which is supervised by the Revolutionary Armed Forces. In Cuba, citizens can receive police assistance by dialing "106" on their telephones.[167] The police force, which is referred to as "Policía Nacional Revolucionaria" or PNR is then expected to provide help. The Cuban government also has an agency called the Intelligence Directorate that conducts intelligence operations and maintains close ties with the Russian Federal Security Service.

As of 2009, Cuba spent about $91.8 million on its armed forces.[168] In 1985, Cuba devoted more than 10% of its GDP to military expenditures.[169] In response to perceived American aggression, such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba built up one of the largest armed forces in Latin America, second only to that of Brazil.[170]

From 1975 until the late 1980s, Soviet military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities. After the loss of Soviet subsidies, Cuba scaled down the numbers of military personnel, from 235,000 in 1994 to about 60,000 in 2003.[171]

The Cuban state claims to adhere to socialist principles in organizing its largely state-controlled planned economy. Most of the means of production are owned and run by the government and most of the labor force is employed by the state. Recent years have seen a trend toward more private sector employment. By 2006, public sector employment was 78% and private sector 22%, compared to 91.8% to 8.2% in 1981.[172] Any firm wishing to hire a Cuban must pay the Cuban government, which in turn will pay the employee in Cuban pesos.[173] The average monthly wage as of July 2013 is 466 Cuban pesos, which are worth about US$19.[174]

People waiting in line at a libreta store in Havana

Cuba has a dual currency system, whereby most wages and prices are set in Cuban pesos (CUP), while the tourist economy operates with Convertible pesos (CUC), set at par with the US dollar.[174] Every Cuban household has a ration book (known as libreta) entitling it to a monthly supply of food and other staples, which are provided at nominal cost.[175]

Before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Cuba was one of the most advanced and successful countries in Latin America.[176] Cuba's capital, Havana, was a "glittering and dynamic city".[176] The country's economy in the early part of the century, fuelled by the sale of sugar to the United States, had grown dynamically. Cuba ranked 5th in the hemisphere in per capita income, 3rd in life expectancy, 2nd in per capita ownership of automobiles and telephones, and 1st in the number of television sets per inhabitant. Cuba's literacy rate, 76%, was the fourth highest in Latin America. Cuba also ranked 11th in the world in the number of doctors per capita. Several private clinics and hospitals provided services for the poor. Cuba's income distribution compared favorably with that of other Latin American societies. A thriving middle class, according to PBS, held the promise of prosperity and social mobility.[176] According to Cuba historian Louis Perez of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Havana was then what Las Vegas has become." [177]

After the Cuban revolution and before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba depended on Moscow for substantial aid and sheltered markets for its exports. The removal of these subsidies sent the Cuban economy into a rapid depression known in Cuba as the Special Period. Cuba took limited free market-oriented measures to alleviate severe shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. These steps included allowing some self-employment in certain retail and light manufacturing sectors, the legalization of the use of the US dollar in business, and the encouragement of tourism. Cuba has developed a unique urban farm system (the organopónicos) to compensate for the end of food imports from the Soviet Union. It's widely viewed that the U.S. embargo which initiated as a result of discontent with nationalization of U.S.-citizen-held property and later perceived human rights violations hurts the Cuban economy.

The leadership of Cuba has called for reforms in the country's agricultural system. In 2008, Raúl Castro began enacting agrarian reforms to boost food production, as at that time 80% of food was imported. The reforms enacted are aimed at expanding land usage and increasing efficiency.[178] Venezuela supplies Cuba with an estimated 110,000 barrels (17,000 m3) a day of oil in exchange for money and the services of some 44,000 Cubans, most of them medical personnel, in Venezuela.[179] Estimates place Venezuelan assistance at over 20% of the Cuban GDP for 2008–2010, similar to the aid flows from the Soviet Union in 1985–1988.[180]

Cubans are now permitted to own small businesses in certain sectors

In 2005 Cuba had exports of $2.4 billion, ranking 114 of 226 world countries, and imports of $6.9 billion, ranking 87 of 226 countries.[181] Its major export partners are Canada 17.7%, China 16.9%, Venezuela 12.5%, Netherlands 9%, and Spain 5.9% (2012).[182] Cuba's major exports are sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus fruits, and coffee;[182] imports include food, fuel, clothing, and machinery. Cuba presently holds debt in an amount estimated to be $13 billion,[183] approximately 38% of GDP.[184] According to the Heritage Foundation, Cuba is dependent on credit accounts that rotate from country to country.[185] Cuba's prior 35% supply of the world's export market for sugar has declined to 10% due to a variety of factors, including a global sugar commodity price drop that made Cuba less competitive on world markets.[186] It was announced in 2008 that wage caps would be abandoned to improve the nation's productivity.[187]

In 2010[update], Cubans were allowed to build their own houses. According to Raúl Castro, they will be able to improve their houses with this new permission, but the government will not endorse these new houses or improvements.[188]

On August 2, 2011, The New York Times reported Cuba as reaffirming their intent to legalize "buying and selling" of private property before the year's end. According to experts, the private sale of property could "transform Cuba more than any of the economic reforms announced by President Raúl Castro's government".[189] It will cut more than one million state jobs, including party bureaucrats who resist the changes.[190] The new economic reforms effectively created a new economic system, referred by some as the "New Cuban Economy".[191][192]

In August 2012, a specialist of the "Cubaenergia Company" announced the opening of Cuba's first Solar Power Plant. As a member of the Cubasolar Group, there was also a mention of 10 additional plants in 2013.[193]

In October 2013, as part of Raúl Castro's latest reforms, Cuba announced an end to the dual currency system.[194]

Cuba's most important mineral resource is nickel, with 21% of total exports in 2011.[195] The output of Cuba's nickel mines that year was 71,000 tons, approaching 4% of world production.[196] As of 2013[update] its reserves were estimated at 5.5 million tons, over 7% of the world total.[196]Sherritt International of Canada operates a large nickel mining facility in Moa. Cuba is also a major producer of refined cobalt, a by-product of nickel mining operations.[197]

Oil exploration in 2005 by the US Geological Survey revealed that the North Cuba Basin could produce approximately 4.6 billion barrels (730,000,000 m3) to 9.3 billion barrels (1.48×109 m3) of oil. In 2006, Cuba started to test-drill these locations for possible exploitation.[198]

Tourism was initially restricted to enclave resorts where tourists would be segregated from Cuban society, referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid".[199] Contacts between foreign visitors and ordinary Cubans were de facto illegal between 1992 and 1997.[200] The rapid growth of tourism during the Special Period had widespread social and economic repercussions in Cuba, and led to speculation about the emergence of a two-tier economy.[201]

Cuba has tripled its market share of Caribbean tourism in the last decade;[when?] as a result of significant investment in tourism infrastructure, this growth rate is predicted to continue.[202]1.9 million tourists visited Cuba in 2003, predominantly from Canada and the European Union, generating revenue of $2.1 billion.[203] Cuba recorded 2,688,000 international tourists in 2011, the third-highest figure in the Caribbean (behind the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico).[204]

The medical tourism sector caters to thousands of European, Latin American, Canadian, and American consumers every year.

Allegations of widespread sex tourism are downplayed by the Cuban Justice minister.[205] According to a Government of Canada travel advice website, "Cuba is actively working to prevent child sex tourism, and a number of tourists, including Canadians, have been convicted of offences related to the corruption of minors aged 16 and under. Prison sentences range from 7 to 25 years."[206]

The main island named Cuba is 1,250 km (780 mi) long, constituting most of the nation's land area (104,556 km2 (40,369 sq mi)) and is the largest island in the Caribbean and 17th-largest island in the world by land area. The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the Sierra Maestra mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is Pico Turquino (1,974 m (6,476 ft)).

The second-largest island is Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) in the Canarreos archipelago, with an area of 2,200 km2 (849 sq mi). Cuba has an official area (land area) of 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi). Its area is 110,860 km2 (42,803 sq mi) including coastal and territorial waters.

With most of the island south of the Tropic of Cancer, the local climate is tropical, moderated by northeasterly trade winds that blow year-round. The temperature is also shaped by the Caribbean current, which brings in warm water from the equator. This makes the climate of Cuba warmer than Hong Kong, which is at around the same latitude as Cuba, but has a subtropical climate instead of a tropical climate. In general (with local variations), there is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. The average temperature is 21 °C (69.8 °F) in January and 27 °C (80.6 °F) in July. The warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that Cuba sits across the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico combine to make the country prone to frequent hurricanes. These are most common in September and October.

The revision comprises an action plan with time limits for each item, and an indication of the governmental body responsible for delivery. There is, however, virtually no information in that document about biodiversity itself. The country's fourth national report to the CBD, however, contains a detailed breakdown of the numbers of species of each kingdom of life recorded from Cuba, the main groups being: animals (17,801 species), bacteria (270 species), chromista (707 species), fungi, including lichen-forming species (5844 species), plants (9107 species) and protozoa (1440 species).[209]

As elsewhere in the world, vertebrate animals and flowering plants are well documented. The numbers recorded from Cuba for those groups are therefore likely to be close to the numbers which actually occur in Cuba. For most if not all of the other groups, however, the true numbers of species occurring in Cuba are likely to exceed, often considerably, the numbers of those recorded so far.

According to the official census of 2010, Cuba's population was 11,241,161, comprising 5,628,996 men and 5,612,165 women.[210] Its birth rate (9.88 births per thousand population in 2006)[211] is one of the lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Although the country has grown by around 4 million people since 1961, the rate of increase had simultaneously began to fall during that period, and the population began to decline in 2006, with a fertility rate of 1.43 children per woman.[212]

Indeed, this drop in fertility is among the largest in the Western Hemisphere,[213] and is attributed largely to unrestricted access to legal abortion: Cuba's abortion rate was 58.6 per 1000 pregnancies in 1996, compared to an average of 35 in the Caribbean, 27 in Latin America overall, and 48 in Europe. Similarly, the use of contraceptives is also widespread, estimated at 79% of the female population (in the upper third of countries in the Western Hemisphere).[214]

Cuba's population is multiethnic, reflecting its complex colonial origins. Intermarriage between diverse groups is widespread, and subsequently there is a discrepancy regarding the country's racial composition: whereas the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami determined that 62% of Cubans are black,[215] the 2002 Cuban census found that a similar proportion of the population, 65.05%, was white.

Young boys in school uniform with a football, Pinar del Río, December 2006.

In fact, the Minority Rights Group International determined that "An objective assessment of the situation of Afro-Cubans remains problematic due to scant records and a paucity of systematic studies both pre- and post-revolution. Estimates of the percentage of people of African descent in the Cuban population vary enormously, ranging from 34% to 62%".[216]

An autosomal study from 2014 has found out the genetic ancestry in Cuba to be 72% European, 20% African and 8% native American.[217]

Immigration and emigration have played a prominent part in Cuba's demographic profile. Between the 18th and early 20th century, large waves of Canarian, Catalan, Andalusian, Galician, and other Spanish people immigrated to Cuba. Between 1899-1930 alone, close to a million Spaniards entered the country, though many would eventually return to Spain.[220] Other prominent immigrant groups included French,[221]Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Greek, British, and Irish, as well as small number of descendants of U.S. citizens who arrived in Cuba in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Post-revolution Cuba has been characterized by significant levels of emigration, which has led to a large and influential diaspora community. During the three decades after January 1959, more than one million Cubans of all social classes — constituting 10% of the total population — emigrated to the United States, a proportion that matches the extent of emigration to the U.S. from the Caribbean as a whole during that period.[222][223][224][225][226] Other common destinations include Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, and Sweden, among others. Those who left the country typically did so by sea, in small boats and fragile rafts. Between 30,000 and 80,000 Cubans are estimated to have died trying to flee Cuba.[91] On 9 September 1994, the U.S. and Cuban governments agreed that the U.S. would grant at least 20,000 visas annually in exchange for Cuba's pledge to prevent further unlawful departures on boats.[227]

Cuba is officially a secular state. Religious freedom increased through the 1980s,[229] with the government amending the constitution in 1992 to drop the state's characterization as atheistic.[230]

Roman Catholicism is the largest religion, with its origins rooted in Spanish colonization. Despite less than half of the population identifying as Catholics in 2006, it nonetheless remains the dominant faith.[185]

The religious landscape of Cuba is also strongly defined by syncretisms of various kinds. Christianity is often practiced in tandem with Santería, a mixture of Catholicism and mostly African faiths, which include a number of cults. La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (the Virgin of Cobre) is the Catholic patroness of Cuba, and a symbol of Cuban culture. In Santería, she has been syncretized with the goddess Oshun.

Cuban culture is influenced by its melting pot of cultures, primarily those of Spain and Africa. After the 1959 revolution, the government started a national literacy campaign, offered free education to all and established rigorous sports, ballet and music programs.[237]

Internet in Cuba has some of the lowest penetration rates in the Western hemisphere, and all content is subject to review by the Department of Revolutionary Orientation.[238]ETECSA operates 118 cybercafes in the country.[238] The government of Cuba provides an online encyclopedia website called EcuRed that operates in a "wiki" format.[239] Internet access is limited.[240] The sale of computer equipment is strictly regulated. Internet access is controlled, and e-mail is closely monitored.[241]

Cuban music is very rich and is the most commonly known expression of culture. The central form of this music is Son, which has been the basis of many other musical styles like salsa, rumba and mambo and an upbeat derivation of the rumba, the cha-cha-cha. Rumba music originated in early Afro-Cuban culture.[242] The Tres was also invented in Cuba, but other traditional Cuban instruments are of African origin, Taíno origin, or both, such as the maracas, güiro, marimba and various wooden drums including the mayohuacan.

Popular Cuban music of all styles has been enjoyed and praised widely across the world. Cuban classical music, which includes music with strong African and European influences, and features symphonic works as well as music for soloists, has received international acclaim thanks to composers like Ernesto Lecuona. Havana was the heart of the rap scene in Cuba when it began in the 1990s.

During that time, reggaetón was growing in popularity. In 2011, the Cuban state denounced reggaeton as degenerate, directed reduced "low-profile" airplay of the genre (but did not ban it entirely) and banned the megahit Chupi Chupi by Osmani García, characterizing its description of sex as "the sort which a prostitute would carry out".[243] In December 2012, the Cuban government officially banned sexually explicit reggaeton songs and music videos from radio and television.[244][245] Dance in Cuba has taken a major boost over the 1990s. As well as pop, classical and rock are very popular in Cuba.

Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish and Caribbean cuisines. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. Food rationing, which has been the norm in Cuba for the last four decades, restricts the common availability of these dishes.[246] The traditional Cuban meal is not served in courses; all food items are served at the same time.

The typical meal could consist of plantains, black beans and rice, ropa vieja (shredded beef), Cuban bread, pork with onions, and tropical fruits. Black beans and rice, referred to as Moros y Cristianos (or moros for short), and plantains are staples of the Cuban diet. Many of the meat dishes are cooked slowly with light sauces. Garlic, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves are the dominant spices.

Cuban literature began to find its voice in the early 19th century. Dominant themes of independence and freedom were exemplified by José Martí, who led the Modernist movement in Cuban literature. Writers such as Nicolás Guillén and Jose Z. Tallet focused on literature as social protest. The poetry and novels of Dulce María Loynaz and José Lezama Lima have been influential. Romanticist Miguel Barnet, who wrote Everyone Dreamed of Cuba, reflects a more melancholy Cuba.[247]

Due to historical associations with the United States, many Cubans participate in sports which are popular in North America, rather than sports traditionally promoted in other Latin American nations. Baseball is by far the most popular; other sports and pastimes include football, basketball, volleyball, cricket, and athletics. Cuba is a dominant force in amateur boxing, consistently achieving high medal tallies in major international competitions. Cuba also provides a national team that competes in the Olympic Games.[248]

The University of Havana was founded in 1728 and there are a number of other well-established colleges and universities. In 1957, just before Castro came to power, the literacy rate was fourth in the region at almost 80% according to the United Nations, higher than in Spain.[83][249] Castro created an entirely state-operated system and banned private institutions. School attendance is compulsory from ages six to the end of basic secondary education (normally at age 15), and all students, regardless of age or gender, wear school uniforms with the color denoting grade level. Primary education lasts for six years, secondary education is divided into basic and pre-university education.[250] Cuba's literacy rate of 99.8 percent[182][251] is the tenth-highest globally, due largely to the provision of free education at every level.[252] Cuba's high school graduation rate is 94 percent.[253]

Higher education is provided by universities, higher institutes, higher pedagogical institutes, and higher polytechnic institutes. The Cuban Ministry of Higher Education operates a scheme of distance education which provides regular afternoon and evening courses in rural areas for agricultural workers. Education has a strong political and ideological emphasis, and students progressing to higher education are expected to have a commitment to the goals of Cuba.[250] Cuba has provided state subsidized education to a limited number of foreign nationals at the Latin American School of Medicine.[254][255]

Cuba's life expectancy at birth is 78 years.[182] Historically, Cuba has ranked high in numbers of medical personnel and has made significant contributions to world health since the 19th century.[83] Today, Cuba has universal health care and although shortages of medical supplies persist, there is no shortage of medical personnel.[257] Primary care is available throughout the island and infant and maternal mortality rates compare favorably with those in developed nations.[257]

Post-Revolution Cuba initially experienced an overall worsening in terms of disease and infant mortality rates in the 1960s when half its 6,000 doctors left the country.[258] Recovery occurred by the 1980s,[73] and the country's healthcare has been widely praised.[259] The Communist government asserted that universal health care was to become a priority of state planning and progress was made in rural areas.[260] Like the rest of the Cuban economy, Cuban medical care suffered from severe material shortages following the end of Soviet subsidies in 1991, followed by a tightening of the U.S. embargo in 1992.[261]

Challenges include low pay of doctors (still only $60 a month, even after a 150% pay rise[262]), poor facilities, poor provision of equipment, and frequent absence of essential drugs.[263] Cuba has the highest doctor-to-population ratio in the world and has sent thousands of doctors to more than 40 countries around the world.[264] According to the World Health Organization, Cuba is "known the world over for its ability to train excellent doctors and nurses who can then go out to help other countries in need". As of September 2014 there are around 50,000 Cuban-trained health care workers aiding 66 nations.[265] Cuban physicians have played a leading role in combating the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa.[266]

According to the UN, the life expectancy in Cuba is 78.3 years (76.2 for males and 80.4 for females). This ranks Cuba 37th in the world and 3rd in the Americas, behind only Canada and Chile, and just ahead of the United States. Infant mortality in Cuba declined from 32 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 1957, to 10 in 1990–95.[267] Infant mortality in 2000–2005 was 6.1 per 1,000 live births. Its infant mortality rate is 5.13.[182][251]

In Cuba, there is a need to import certain pharmaceutical drugs. Therefore, the Quimefa Pharmaceutical Business Group (FARMACUBA) was developed under The Ministry of Basic Industry (MINBAS). This group also handles the exporting of pharmaceuticals, and provide technical information for the production of these drugs.[268] Isolated from the West, Cuba developed the successful lung cancer vaccine, Cimavax, which now is available to US researchers for the first time, along with other novel Cuban cancer treatments. The vaccine has been available for free to the Cuban population since 2011.[269] According to Roswell Park Cancer Institute CEO Candace Johnson: "They've had to do more with less, so they've had to be even more innovative with how they approach things. For over 40 years, they have had a preeminent immunology community."[270]

In 2015, the World Health Organization declared Cuba the first country in the world to end transmission of HIV and syphilis from mother to child.[22]

^CNN: "Cuba eases travel restriction for citizens" by Ben Brumfield October 16, 2012 |Until now, Cubans had to pay $150 for an exit visa. A resident in the country that the Cuban wanted to visit would also have to write a letter of invitation. Fees associated with the letter ran as high as $200. That's a steep price in a country where the average official monthly income is about $20.

^Gleijeses 1996, pp. 159, 161: "Cuba's relationship with Algeria in 1961–5 ... clashes with the image of Cuban foreign policy—cynical ploys of a [Soviet] client state—that prevails not only in the United States but also in many European capitals. ... The aid Cuba gave Algeria in 1961–2 had nothing to do with the East-West conflict. Its roots predate Castro's victory in 1959 and lie in the Cubans' widespread identification with the struggle of the Algerian people."

^Gleijeses 2010, p. 327: "The dispatch of 36,000 Cuban soldiers to Angola between November 1975 and April 1976 stunned the world; ... by 1988, there were 55,000 Cuban soldiers in Angola."

^Gleijeses 1997, p. 50: "On 14–16 October 1960, [Guinean president Ahmed Sékou] Touré went to Havana. It was the first visit of an African chief of state to Cuba. The following year Cuba's foreign aid programme to Third World governments began when fifteen students from Guinea arrived in Havana to attend the university or technical institutes."

^Gleijeses 1997, p. 45: "Joining the rebellion in 1966, and remaining through the war's end in 1974, this was the longest Cuban intervention in Africa before the despatch of troops to Angola in November 1975. It was also the most successful. As the Guinean paper Nõ Pintcha declared, 'The Cubans' solidarity was decisive for our struggle'".

^Gleijeses 2002, p. 227. The Cuban contribution to the independence of Mozambique was not very important.

^Domínguez 1989, p. 6: "Cuba is a small country, but it has the foreign policy of a big power."

^Feinsilver 1989, p. 2: "Cuba has projected disproportionately greater power and influence through military might ... through economic largesse ... as a mediator in regional conflicts, and as a forceful and persuasive advocate of Third World interests in international forums. Cuba's scientific achievements, while limited, are also being shared with other Third World countries, thereby furthering Cuban influence and prestige abroad."

^Feinsilver 1989, pp. 4–5: "Its success has been acclaimed by Dr. Halfdan Mahler, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Dr. Carlysle Guerra de Macedo, Director-General of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), as well as by medical professionals from the United States and other capitalist countries who have observed the Cuban health system in action. Despite U.S. hostility toward Cuba, a U.S. government document stated in 1982 that the 'Cuban Revolution has managed social achievements, especially in education and health care, that are highly respected in the Third World ... , [including] a national health care program that is superior in the Third World and rivals that of numerous developed countries.'"